Residents return home after gas leak in Springfield’s South End

Multiple homes were evacuated in Springfield’s South End due to a gas leak early Friday afternoon.

Springfield Fire Department spokesman Dennis Leger told 22News a construction crew hit a gas line at the end of Marble Street just after 11 a.m., causing the leak.

Leger said Columbia Gas was able to stop the leak by 12:30 p.m. The gas company explained that a construction crew working at the end of Marble Street punctured a gas line, triggering the gas leak.

More than a dozen homes were evacuated on Marble Street and Oswego Street as a precaution. Marble Street was closed for hours, while crews worked to repair the gas line.

Everyone was allowed to return to their homes after Columbia Gas repaired the pipe and stopped the gas leak. Residents were relieved it wasn’t worse.

“You never know you know what I mean gas is dangerous,” said Rene Saenz, a Marble St. resident. “People think it’s not, but it is dangerous.”

Another Marble St. resident, George Santiago, told 22News, “It happened in Lawrence but it was worse, you know houses burned down there were explosions and I was scared and I figured something like that could happen here.”

Columbia Gas’ Andrea Luppi told 22News the ongoing repair work in the Merrimack Valley has no impact on their ability to respond to gas leaks in western Massachusetts since they still have many workers at their Springfield location.

Luppi added that they finished the repairs to the Marble Street gas main by late Friday afternoon.

At the other end of the state, Columbia Gas said they won’t be able to restore gas service to all of their Merrimack Valley customers until December 16, missing their original target date by one month.